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Tribe's post-break rotation starts with Kazmir

By
Mark EmeryMLB.com

CLEVELAND -- When the All-Star festivities conclude and it's time for regular-season baseball to resume, Scott Kazmir will take the ball for the Indians.

The Tribe announced on Sunday how the starting rotation will look following the four-day break. Kazmir is scheduled to start on Friday in Minnesota, with Corey Kluber pitching on Saturday and first-time All-Star Justin Masterson set to throw on Sunday. It will be Ubaldo Jimenez's turn the next day in Seattle, with the fifth spot still undetermined.

CLEVELAND -- When the All-Star festivities conclude and it's time for regular-season baseball to resume, Scott Kazmir will take the ball for the Indians.

The Tribe announced on Sunday how the starting rotation will look following the four-day break. Kazmir is scheduled to start on Friday in Minnesota, with Corey Kluber pitching on Saturday and first-time All-Star Justin Masterson set to throw on Sunday. It will be Ubaldo Jimenez's turn the next day in Seattle, with the fifth spot still undetermined.

"It was really just more of matchups for everybody going through for the first 15 days or so," pitching coach Mickey Callaway said. "No huge rhyme or reason."

Originally, Cleveland planned to have Masterson make the first start after the break. But if he pitches in Tuesday's All-Star Game, Masterson would have just two days of rest before that outing. The Indians didn't want Friday's starter to be decided by whether Masterson takes the mound in New York, so they pushed him back to Sunday, when he'd have four days' rest if he appears in the Midsummer Classic.

"Just trying to give him a little blow during the All-Star break and just get him to where [he's facing] the teams we want him to face," Callaway said.

The Indians would prefer that Zach McAllister can resume a regular spot in the rotation after the break, which he had done in the first half before going on the 15-day disabled list on June 3 with a right middle finger sprain. McAllister made a rehab start on Saturday for Double-A Akron, with another outing scheduled for Thursday.

"If he keeps up his current pace, we're hoping that that spot's there for him," Callaway said. "Obviously, when you're coming back from an injury, you don't know, so it's tough to really say. But, we're hoping that that's him."